Pirates & Wizards
by Fraggranark
Summary: One-shots of characters from OP and FT meeting in a variety of situations. Short, simple. Not like my SlayersXFT crossover. Second: Gajeel returns from a job, only to find a certain musician has followed him. Accepting suggestions for groupings.  Hiatus.
1. The Demon & The Knight

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this expect the method and order in which these words have been placed. They belong to the brilliant authors who created both these wonderful series.

A/N: this is just something I wrote on a whim. Unlike Slayers & Fairies, this isn't a direction, chapter-by-chapter story. I have the vague idea that when I feel the urge, I'll rewrite a one-shot (or maybe two-shot, for the aftermath, later) about one of the Strawhats (or possibly another OP character) running into the FT characters. Don't expect it to be soon, or always for them to run into the FT guild hall or Team Natsu.

Hehe, just had an idea for Elfman and Franky meeting. It would be a SUPER meeting of MANLINESS! I beat Franky would feel extra manly that week.

Anyway, this was written at 2am, listening to my newly downloaded songs of the newest Naruto opening and ending themes, Lover and Freedom, which I enjoyed a lot.

I hope you like this. I personally feel that in terms of sheer swordsmanship, Zoro outclasses Erza before the time-skip and after, well, he would be as I've shown.

Why, yes, Zoro is my favourite OP character, how did you guess? (my fav FT are Gajeel, followed by Elfman, Natsu, Pantherlily, Laxus, Brain.)

* * *

><p>It was a tad surprising when, on a perfectly normal morning, as the birds sang, the trees whispered in the wind, Elfman declared what things a Man did, Natsu and Gray fought, and the Fairy Tail guild hall had just finished its breakfast brawl, that a man with short green hair, a scar through one eye, a green jacket and three swords walked in, took a look around, frowned and wandered out. There was a moment of silence as the mages of Fairy Tail processed this. They were just about to dismiss it when he walks in from the door leading out back and repeated his previous actions before leaving.<p>

"The hell is-" Gray started to ask the room in general when the stranger walked out of the pantry behind the bar.

Ignoring the people staring at him, the man swore and began to look cross. "Damn confusing sidewalks. Oi, you, which way to the docks?" he demanded, pointing at Mirajane with a heavily calloused finger.

The bartender frowned. "I'm afraid Magnolia doesn't have any docks. We're inland, our only water is the lake outback."

The stranger's expression became more irate. "Really? Damn."

"Oi! Why the hell do you keep coming into our guild?" Natsu demanded, leaping onto a nearby table and nearly knocking Lucy's drink onto the Celestial mage herself.

"Huh?" was his eloquent reply.

"I believe" Freed began from the bar. " he is asking why exactly have you entered three times and exited twice, with no apparent purpose?"

Giving the room a look, the stranger shrugged. "I don't know. Is your building stalking me?" he cocked an eyebrow, now watching the walls warily.

"What?" was the almost universal shout from the mages, who were becoming more surprised by the sentence.

"Did you get lost?" Mirajane, always one to be positive and look for solutions, suggested.

He snorted. "I don't get lost." After a moment's thought, he added. "Despite what the others say. Not my fault the geography keeps getting in the way."

"Enough! Stranger, tell us your name!" this shout of demand came, without much shock, from Erza Scarlet.

"Hm?" he seemed vaguely interested in the twin short swords she was pointing at him. "Zoro."

"What is your purpose here?" she asked, clearly intent on interrogating him. "I refuse to believe that anyone could have such a bad sense of direction to accidently re-enter the guild three times! Tell me the truth, or you'll taste my blades!"

"Uh, Erza, isn't that going a bit far-" Lucy began.

"Heh." The single syllable drew every eye in the room. Zoro looked...eager? "So," he drawled, hands resting against the hilts of his swords. "if I _don't _tell you, we fight?" he grinned darkly. "Sounds good to me." There was a silken whisper as he drew one of his katanna.

The whole guild burst into whispers as Erza stared in shock. Her eyes hardened. "Very well! We fight!"

Zoro grinned, and faster than anyone could follow had launched over the bar and his blade slammed into Erza's hasty defence. He pressed down on her, and to the guild's shock her swords were being forced back. Sweat gleamed on Erza's face as she struggled against her opponent's overwhelming physical strength. There was screech of metal and a shower of sparks as she managed to angle her weapons break the lock, blades grinding as he went past. Any hope of taking advantage of the opening was lost, Zoro reacting with unbelievable speed. Erza barely caught the attack on her right-hand sword, and she was knocked through the air.

She managed to right herself before she landed, the S-Class mage sliding as she landed on a table. The occupants scattered. The area around the walls and the second floor were becoming thick with observers. Near the front, Natsu was punching the air and cheering her on with Lucy.

Erza eyed the swordsman, wary. Despite herself, she could not help feeling doubt worm its way into her heart. He had only swung twice, but in those duel meetings of blades she had felt...power. Not magical power, nothing so mystical. It was not even raw power. It was a wild, burning strength formed from a body forged for battle and skill. She knew, without a doubt, this man deserved the title of Sword Master more than anyone she had met. They said that in when the weapons of two warriors met they could read the other's heart. If so, he had a heart filled with determination and ambition like none she had fought before.

They stared, waiting for the other to make the next move. Erza's armour glowed, breaking apart as she requipped her Black Wing Armour. "I am Erza Scarlet, my magic Black Wing Armour enhances the power of a single weapon, the blow one stri-" she began her dramatic dialogue.

"Tch." Zoro turned away, sheathing his blade. His shoulders slumped as he sighed in...disappointment. The swordsman began to walk away. Confusion spread through the suddenly quite crowd. Was he afraid of Erza? What was going?

The woman herself wanted to know. "Where you going?" she shouted. "Why are you running?"

Zoro waved a hand vaguely in her direction, not even bothering to turn. "I ain't interested fighting someone who relies on magic instead of skill and training." He said with dismissively. His head half turned and he roll his remaining eye towards her. "It's not a real sword fight. I've got no reason to keep going."

Erza found herself speechless for a moment, inarticulate as the man's words washed over her. Her face went pale, and the hands gripping her blade tightened. Just as Natsu opened his mouth to roar at the swordsman, she spoke.

"Alright."

"Hm?" Zoro looked at her again, curious at the odd, flat tone.

"Alright." She repeated, meeting his gaze. Her armour glowed, and soon faded away. She wore the outfit she had in the Tower of Heaven, facing a sinister member of Trinity Raven, mage assassins. There was a few mutterings as the guild stared at her skimpily bound chest. A katana was held in each hand. "No armour. No magic. Just swords. Just you, and just me."

He watched for a moment before grinning and turning to face her fully. "Great! I knew you had it in you." He congratulated. She did not take offense. He wasn't being patronising. He was honestly praising her, one warrior to another. His sword was back in hand before she knew it. "Now, let's get serious.

A smile forced its way onto her face. "Yes, lets." Erza leapt onto the next table, running to the edge where she pushed off, sailing through the air at her opponent. Zoro held his lone drawn sword in his right hand, wielding with just the one. He met her downward stroke from her right blade, disengaging in a movement that forced it away long enough for him to easily parry the flanking attack from her left sword. His return, a straight cut aimed at her left shoulder, sparked against her crossed sword. The force lifted her away, the swordswoman landing gracefully and on guard.

Without missing a beat, Zoro went on the attack. He was in her face before she knew it, blade driving through the air from his upper right. It bounced away from her first parry, but was followed before she could counter-attack. The swordsman kept up his assault, thrusting from the front only to feint for her stomach and dive for her legs, forcing Erza to react with acrobatic leaps and dodges. The fight was relentless, Zoro not letting up for a moment. There were openings in his defence, but nothing she tried managed to pierce his defences. Zoro's reflexes were amazing, even to her, and he seemed to notice the slightest shift in posture and not only blocked, parried or even prevented her from attacking, but had a follow-up in motion. He did not even seem to have a blind spot like anyone lacking an eye should.

After the first minute, the fight had moved to the open ground between the bar and the main entrance. Small cuts and slices dotted Erza's skin, drops of red against her pale frame. She had yet to land an attack on Zoro by the second minute mark. Erza tried crossing her swords and forcing his up and away, sliding one sword out to slash at his throat. Zoro swayed to the side, knocked her second blade further and came down for her head. It was all Erza could do to jump backwards, but even so a long bloody gash trailed down her cheek.

"You're good." Zoro complimented, watching her stance and movements carefully. "You've trained your body well, you've got excellent reflexes and you pack a punch. You could be one of the best." He considered that for a moment. "Nope, you _are _one of the best. Wish Mihawk was here to meet you."

She panted, watching him. She was getting tired extremely fast, Erza knew. She was drawing on every ounce of skill and experience to keep up. The nagging doubt in her pointed out that she wasn't keeping up; he was still unharmed and had yet to draw his second sword. Considering he was using the first one handed, it wasn't hard to believe he was a master of two sword style.

He looked her over. "This fight is going to end the same way." He informed. "Whether it takes an hour or a minute."

"SHUT UP! Erza will kick your mossy-headed butt!" Natsu roared from the crowd.

"..." There was an offended silence from between Bixlow and Evergreen.

"Woops, uh, sorry Freed."

"Shut the hell up, you little brat!" Zoro suddenly shouted at Natsu. "I'm trying to be serious here, you pink punk!"

That got to Natsu, not that it was a fantastically hard thing to do. He slammed one foot onto the railing, waving a fist. "Say that again, moss-head! I'll burn you to a char!"

Further arguing was forestalled. "What do you propose? I will not give in." Erza told him in her firmest voice.

The swordsman nodded, grinning. "I didn't think you would. Let's end this." With a swift movement, the near-black bandanna on his arm was lifted and around his head. It made the swordsman look remarkably more evil as his eyes glared out from the shadow it cast. He pulled the other two swords out, lifting one to his mouth. "I'll finish this with the style I created – Santoryu." He held his swords up at angle to each other, level with his mouth.

"The man I seek to surpass showed me his strength when we first met! He crushed my body, broke my blades! It hardened my resolve, it made me vow never to lose against any other sword! I don't know what goal you seek, if you seek any. But! Erza Scarlet, show me if you have the will to become stronger." His voice was loud and clear, and so deadly serious it silenced even Natsu. "Show me your ambition!" he roared. His swords began to spin clockwise in perfect harmony. His legs tensed and he erupted into movement at the same moment as Erza.

"Santoryu Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!"

They blazed past each other in an instant, moving too fast and blades flying with speed no one could follow. They stood where the other had been, facing the opposite direction. The room was deadly quiet.

"Amazing." Erza muttered, a moment before she fell to the ground as blood sprayed from the red line that appeared on her side. The tip of each sword, cleanly sliced in two, embedded in the wooden floor.

The guild burst into motion, half towards Erza and half towards Zoro, some, like Natsu, screaming bloody murder. He did not even seem to see them, reaching up to touch his cheek just below his scarred eye.

"Stop!" she suddenly roared, pulling herself to her knees. It was obvious to everyone that Erza was barely able to stay conscious. "Do nothing to him! We fought honourably and without malice! I will not have you shame that!"

"Incredible." Zoro turned at last, a soft grin on his face. Sheathing his blades, he took off his bandanna. The hand which had touched his cheek was smeared with blood, and a flow was slowly damming the light cut beneath his eye. He walked over to her, reaching out. She responded, and they clasp hands. "You're a fine swordswoman." Seen only by the woman who's hand he held, sadness pressed against him, coming to his eyes for only a moment before it was gone. Erza found herself wondering if she had imagined it. "It was an honour to fight you."

"The same...to...you..." Erza smiled up at him as she lost consciousness.

Turning to the stunned guild, Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You guys got a doctor?" another thought occurred to him as Wendy ran forward. He wasn't about to question their medical professional, considering his own was a man-reindeer. "Got any rum?"

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed, did my best to get the character's across. You know, I've never written something this purposefully small and self-contained before. I might write a follow up, but don't expect it anytime soon. With this one, it will be rare bouts of inspiration at late times of night. I wonder if the sore throat and sniffles helped me write? Who knows!<p> 


	2. The Soul King & The Iron Dragon

Here's the newest chapter. Guess who this one is about? Go on, guess! You'll never get it!

Levy and Lucy frowned as they inspected the post that had been sent to Fairy Tail. It was full of colour, despite featuring a mixture of crowns and skulls in its imagery.

"'The Soul King, newest musical sensation!'" Lucy read out loud. She turned to Levy. "Have you heard of any 'Soul King'?"

The Script Mage 'hmmm'd loudly. "I think I heard some people talking the other day. He's only done one show, but apparently everyone fell in love with him. Look at this." She pointed at the large caption on the lower half, beneath the crown bearing skull, which oddly enough had an afro. Obviously, this was just some personal image the Soul King liked to use. Levy leaned down, bringing her chest close to the table. " 'Magnolia! Number One Concert! TONIGHT! BE THERE!'" amazingly she managed to pronounce the capitals. "Want to see what it's like? Look, the tickets are pretty cheap."

The blonde girl mulled it over. "I guess so. We just got back, so I've got a _little_ cash to spare." She brightened. "Want to go get the tickets now and do a little shopping on the way?"

Laughing lightly at her friend's joyous expression, Levy nodded. Just that moment, the imposing figure that was Gajeel passed behind Lucy on his way to the bar. He, like Lucy's team, had just returned from a job. A thought occurred to her. "Gajeel, you just got back from a request in Hargeon, right?"

He nodded, glancing at them curiously. His eyes started to wonder down to the poster. They might even have actually noticed what was on it if Levy's breasts had not been hovering a few inches above it. There was an internal battle as he fought the rush of blood to his cheeks; "Uh, yeah. Why?" he asked to distract himself. Lucy eyed him suspiciously, noticing what Levy did not. There was just a hint, the tiniest mote possible, of red on his face.

"Did you hear anything about this guy?" Levy asked, pointing down at the poster presumably completely unaware of anything what else might be of interest to the Dragon Slayer in that direction.

Gajeel forced himself to look past Levy's breasts and take stock of what was actually on the poster before she moved and he got distracted. All, or at least the vast majority, thoughts of attractive bookworms were blasted from his head and his face twisted for a moment as it tried to decide what emotion would best be suited to what he saw. It chose irritation. Grunting, he stepped back. "No." He muttered gruffly, making to stomp off.

Unfortunately for him, both girls had all too little trouble working out that he might not be telling the truth. Levy jumped over the table and grabbed his wrist before he could get further away. "Come on, you must have heard something!"

Turning back to scowl at her to get off him, Gajeel paused. She was pouting. Levy was pouting. At him. Very close. He tried to step away, but she held firm. "Uh, not really." He muttered, looking away.

Her pout _intensified_, if such a thing were possible, and it almost seemed like her eyes grew larger and wetter as she softly asked "Gajeel, please tell me."

Gajeel flinched, cursing inside his head. He could lie to Master Ivan flawlessly, why the hell could he not just deceive this little blue haired slip of a girl he once beat up and cruci-

He managed to avoid actually showing it, but his mind winced at the thought. It really was possible for it not to come to mind and this time proved to be the deciding vote. "Fine." he said quietly in defeat, letting her pull him back to the table. Lucy watched, doing her best to keep from giggling or laughing hysterically. Gajeel glared at her over Levy's head, but it failed to pierce her humour fuelled defences.

"So, tell us what you heard!" Levy commanded brightly when she was sitting opposite him, smiling happily.

It only occurred to Gajeel later that he did exactly what she asked without thinking about it. "He's some weird musician. Some talent guys heard him when they passed the bar he was playing in. When the fight was over, they were all over him to get him to sign up with them. The guy's g- meant to be good." He shrugged. "Pretty weird as well. That's all I know." For some reason, he tensed slightly.

"Fight?" Lucy asked incredulously. "He was playing in a bar? Why would he do that if he's so good?"

"I don't know." Gajeel snapped. "Go to the concert and ask him yourself."

Levy tapped her chin, looking at Gajeel. "Gajeel..."

"Yeah?" he managed, in a close approximation to his usual voice. She was _pouting again!_

His expression became shifty when he heard her next question. "Were you at the bar?"

Gajeel tried his best. "Course I wasn't. I was doing the job, ask Lily." The last he said rather defensively.

She continued to scrutinise him, now with an expression that clearly said she was in no way fooled. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the request to replace a bouncer while he was ill?" she asked triumphantly.

The Dragon Slayer just gave up at this point. "Listen, I just don't wanna think about it! Can you just leave it alone?" the fact he was asking and not roaring it as a command was testament to his self-control.

The girls exchanged glances before smiling widely and looking back at him. Gajeel had the inexplicable urge to try burying his head in sand. Before either would actually say anything, something extremely odd happened.

The doors burst open and something multicoloured burst through, moving at high speed. There was a muffled thump as Gajeel hit the floor and rolled under the table. Seconds behind him but half a room away, Pantherlily dived from his seat on the bar, leaping to the ground next to Mirajane behind it. The colourful blur landed on the table nearest the door, and stood to its full height.

"Greetings, Fairy Tail! I am looking for a man called Gajeel and a cat called Pantherlily! Are they here?" the brightly dressed man asked loudly. He wore a yellow feather boa over a fancy black coat, reaching down to his orange, flower covered flare pants. Atop a frankly _magnificent _afro sat a yellow hat with a crown around the centre's brim. He held a green, shark themed guitar and a cane hung from his elbow. It was simple so much to take it, it took several seconds for the mages staring at him to realise the tall man was also _a skeleton._

Levy glanced at the table, Gajeel was concealing himself under. Trying not to attract attention, she dropped down to join him. The look on his face was somewhere between 'likely to attack the first person that entered visual range' and 'oh fuck, not _him_'.

"What are you doing, why are you hiding?" she whispered.

"Shut up! He'll find me!" Gajeel hissed back.

"Who will?"

"That bastard out th-" the Dragon Slayer's jaw snapped shut as he realised two very important things. The first was that Levy had not opened her mouth, and the second was that the voice which _had_ asked was whispering loudly enough for the whole room to hear and was decidedly unfeminine; so, three things really. Gajeel watched Levy's gaze slid onto something behind him and freeze.

The skeleton looked between the pair curiously. "Gajeel-san, do you sneak under tables with young ladies often?" he asked innocently. Both faces went red.

"DAMN IT!" Gajeel stood, taking the table with him. His fingers dug into it, and he pivoted on the stood. Holding it above the skeleton, who was watching him raptly, he let go.

"YAAAAAA!" the skeleton screamed as it fell on him. Contrary to his screams of panic, the skeleton gracefully dodged it. The poster fluttered high into the air. "Gajeel-san, you should be more careful. You nearly knocked my brains out..."

"Although I don't have a brain since I'm skeleton! Skull joke! ~Yohohoho!~" the skeleton laughed loudly at his own horrible joke as the rest of the room's occupants sweat-dropped and Gajeel growled. Mirajane glanced down at Lily, who shuddered.

Gajeel panted as he wracked his brain for ideas. He saw Lucy, wearing a completely confused expression as she tried to catch up what was going on. To be fair, it was weird even by Fairy Tail standards. "Oi, boney!" she was brought back to reality as Gajeel grabbed her, holding the celestial mage up with a fist around each of her upper arms. He dropped her in front of him and leapt away, charging towards the bar.

There was a moment of silence as Lucy stared up into the undead creature's horrifyingly empty eye sockets which nonetheless seemed to glimmer with intellect. The tall being loomed over her, and she was certain Gajeel had just killed her. She felt her knees begin to give. The skeleton opened its mouth, the empty, tooth framed hole filling Lucy's vision and then...

The skeleton bowed. "Excuse me miss, may I see your panties?" he asked with completely uncalled for gentlemanliness, given what exactly he was asking for.

She stared for a moment, not sure what was going on. "WHAT?" she screamed, leaping away.

With an air of infinite patience, he asked again "May I see your panties?"

"NO!" Lucy scurried away, hiding behind another table. She glared at it over the top of the table. "Who asks that? What are you?"

"Oh!" the skeleton acquired the air of someone who just committed a grave social error. "How rude of me!" he bowed to the room at large. "I am Brook. A pleasure to meet you all, I am very sorry for not introducing myself when I entered. I pride myself on my manners." He said it politely and with complete sincerity. Brook turned to Levy, who had managed to stand shakily. "Excuse me miss, may I see your panties?"

"No!" Jet and Droy appeared from nowhere, landing between their teammate and Brook. "We won't let you touch her!" "Stay away from Levy!" they glared up at him

Brook looked between them. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "I know who you two must be."

"Huh?"

"Really?" Their expressions relaxed and they dropped their guard as they pondered on the fact that _obviously_ he had heard Shadowgear's reputation.

"Yes! Fish-head and Freak-hat!" Brook's beamed at them as the pair slumped with matching expressions of depression. He looked close at Levy. "Which means _you_ must be...bookworm!" he declared with satisfaction as he remembered.

Levy blinked up at him. On the whole, she was in a state of bewilderment. Most people would be, if a talking, brightly dressed skeleton with a guitar had burst into your home away from home, asked to see your underwear, called by a nickname used by one of the most fearsome people you knew politely all the while said fearsome person hid behind a bar muttering darkly and gathering knives. Not that Levy actually knew about the knives yet. Her manners kicked in and a hand reached out.

"I'm Levy McGarden, nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." Brook took her hand and shook it vigorously. "I've not seen such beauty in my life...but I'm dead! SKULL JOKE!" he threw his head back and laughed his 'Yohohoho' at the ceiling in hilarity.

Brook's personal amusement came to an abrupt halt as Gajeel came to his feet and Pantherlily activated his Battle Mode Shift. Each was armed to the teeth with kitchen knives and various sharp metal implements, in Gajeel's case literally holding a number in his mouth.

"NO. MORE. SKULL. JOKES!" they shouted, Gajeel spilling knives as he did so.

"Hmm? Ah, Pantherlily-san! A pleasure to- AH!" Brook broke off his greeting as he approached, leaping aside to avoid the knives flung at him. "YAAAA!" he cried as the pair began to send wave after wave of knives at him. Despite his cries of panic, the undead musician nimbly dodged every knife, dancing towards the bar through the deadly torrent without pause. His footwork was amazing, and more than a few mages found themselves focusing on his rapidly tapping feet. Brook swayed and duck as he slowly made his way to them. "Look out; you might poke my eye with those...except I don't have eyes! SKULL JOKE!"

"SHUT UP!" Gajeel and Lily roared. The guild just watched, even Makarov staring in astonishment. Gajeel was acting strangely, as was incredibly obvious, but so was Pantherlily. The Exceed had shown himself to be a wholly collected, calm individual who generally controlled his emotions. And here he was, frantically throwing knives at a talking, walking, _dancing _skeleton while demanding it stop making horrible jokes.

"God, you're so annoying!" Gajeel shouted at the skeleton. "Did we lose you back in Hargeon?"

"Ah ah ah." Brook wagged a finger at them as he continued to dodge the attacks. "I have not yet repaid you! I promised to, and I have never broken a promise in my life! Oh, wait..."

"Don't you dare!" Pantherlily spat.

"I'M NOT ALIVE! SKULL JOKE! Yohohoho!"

Gajeel and Pantherlily both froze, shuddering horribly. "I. Am going. To kill. You." Gajeel ground out.

Lily's eye's widened. "Gajeel, you fool, he'll-"

"Too late! I'm already dead! SKULL JOKE!"

"ARRGH!"

Suddenly, something about Brook changed. You couldn't really say it was his expression, what with him having no face (SKULL JOKE! YOHOHOH- Hey! Get out of my narrative! Damn shoddy 4th wall), but simply his manner, his stance.

"Gajeel-san, Pantherlily-san, I must repay your aid! I gave a promise, and I will not recant it!" Brook said with an air of finality.

The Dragon Slayer shook his head. "Dammit man, you're making too much. It was just a promise while drunk – don't even get me started on how a damn skeleton gets drunk in the first place – don't worry about it." He made a dismissive gesture. "Just leave it. I ain't accepting, and you sure as hell can't wait forever for me to give in can you."

Brook considered that. "Me, wait to fulfil a promise?" he chuckled, a low 'yohohoho'. "Gajeel-san, I waited alone, surrounded by the bodies of my nakama, on a ship adrift in the mists for fifty years. I waited, despite the torture of isolation, for a promise." Gajeel's brow furrowed, perplexed by the sudden, low, serious tone of voice he would never believe the insane musician would be capable of. The skeleton bowed his head silently for a moment, and the entire guild fell silent with him. It felt somehow...wrong to violate that mournful silence.

Faster than anyone could see, Brook moved. He was eye-to-socket with Gajeel, who tried to jerk back in surprise only to find a bony hand gripping his shirt. "Do not think me a man who cannot live up to his promises. Death has not stopped me, nothing will! I do not break my promises!" the last was said in a loud, hoarse voice. "I will wait for as long as I end, if I must wait forever."

Gajeel stared at the skeleton, with no idea what to do. This was totally beyond him. Not the skeleton part, he had gotten over that. The..._emotional_ part. Later, part of his mind would note he had not thought the word 'emotional' with quite the same disgust and awkwardness he once had.

At last, he mumbled "F-fine." Awkwardly pulling himself free, he tried to retain his dignity. Brook withdrew his hand slowly. Watching, the guild remained silent as they thought about what Brook had said. Was that true? Fifty years, along with only the corpses of your loved ones for company?

"Good." Brook said quietly. He stepped back and...clapped? "Bring in the gifts!" he shouted, and suddenly the door burst open as large men with the look of furniture movers walked in. A pair of girls in glitterly, big feathered outfits turned up on either side of Brook. He waved a hand as the men started dropping their many burdens in front of Gajeel and Pantherlily, who were as shocked as the rest of the guild. Two men began wheeling in a rack with a dozen brightly coloured shirts.

The skeleton waved a hand at the items, and a small, balding man in a shiny suit was wheeled out on a podium, smiling to the folks at ho- the people around. "Today, we have many special gifts for Gajeel-san and Pantherlily-san! First up is this lovely set of silver cutlery from the Land of Isvan, worth 200,000 Jewels!" One of the show girls thrust the box into Gajeel unsuspecting hands, his jaw hanging open. Makarov was nearly having a heart attack, Natsu's head was darting back and forth as he tried to take in everything they were bringing out as the strange little man kept talking. "Next is the wonderful masterfully crafted communication lacrima, with still-shot functions, visual recording and music functions! This is a genuine Sharn hang-glider, with ten years warranty. Here comes a set of a dozen colourful shirts with a number of prints, made from everything from mageweave to runecloth, frostweave, felcloth, mooncloth, netherweave, embersilk and more! Now this little piece is a real-"

Soon Gajeel and Pantherlily founded themselves being buried alive but gifts. In a classic display of guild solidarity, the mages of Fairy Tail had descended on the piles of gifts to rummage, many explaining as they found something amazing.

Bursting through the pile of gifts, Gajeel drew in a breath to shout when he felt something flow around him. He wasn't sure what had happened until his shirt, slice neatly into pieces, fell to the ground.

"Oh my, how did _that _happen?" Brook pondered, waving his drawn sword in the air perilously next to Gajeel. "Good thing there's these gift shirts for you! Ladies!" he snapped his fingers and Gajeel found himself locked in conflict, many mages pausing their dives into the slowly building sea of random gifts to watch Gajeel flail as he tried to stop himself from being dressed in a largely teal shirt splashed with orange and red. Finally, he lost but at least he was able to shoo them off via picking up the show girls and tossing them away before they could try buttoning it up. Gajeel drew in a deep breath.

"HOLD THE FUCK UP!" he roared. Everyone, even the movers and the shiny little man. Gajeel panted from the force of using all the air in his lungs. "Ok, seriously, fuck, this is way too fuckin' much. Take it back!" he snarled at Brook angrily.

The skeleton sedately wondered over a table, sitting down calmly. "Hmm..." he tapped his chin. He lifted his hand, finger pointing up in an expression of realisation before going back to tapping his chin.

A minute pasted.

Gajeel twitched, and was about to start shouting again when Brook stood, chest puffed out...or at least giving that impression, lacking an actual chest to puff (SKULL J- oh no you fuckin' don't! I'm writing this!). He took a great, heaving breath and everyone waited suspense so thick you could cut it with Natsu's wit.

"No." He took a sip of tea, not noticing the fact everyone single person in the room had face-faulted.

"I'm gonna-" Gajeel began to threaten, but Brook lifted a warding finger and he found himself waiting.

"I will take the gifts back...on one condition. If you agree to keep the gifts, I will not go through with this condition." He informed Gajeel archly.

The Dragon Slayer considered this. While he was doing so, Pantherlily asked the obvious question. "What is this condition?" he inquired suspiciously.

Brook stood, strumming his guitar. "I will play a song."

"Ah..."

The skeleton kept going before anyone could point out that didn't seem so bad, "A song written in the middle of a drunken stupor, while bewailing certain things very loudly."

"What were you bewailing?" Jet asked from the sidelines.

"Huh?" Brook stared at the mage for a moment before realising what he meant; "Oh no. _ I _wasn't the drunk one. Well, I was drunk but I didn't write it-"

It should be noted that at this point fragments of memory clawed their way to the surface of Gajeel's mind and he realised something very important.

"- Gajeel did." The skeleton pointed at Gajeel. In a stage-whisper, Brook said "He's good at writing songs, but not so good at singing."

"Oi, shut the hell up!" Gajeel shook a fist at the undead musician. Another memory bubbled up. This memory concerned the _contents _of that song, and Gajeel felt the blood drain from his face.

"What was it about?" Natsu asked, having unfortunately had one of his bouts of awareness and seen Gajeel's face.

Brook stroked his chin. "I believe it was called _Le_-

It was, by all accounts, a simply magnificent leap. Gajeel, propelled by the twin powers of desperations and embarrassment, launched himself through the air in a graceful, neigh, _elegant_ arch that would put renowned acrobats to shame for centuries to come. Several mages were left rubbing their eyes, not quite sure what they had seen. It was, then, clearly far too amazing and beautiful to be put into mere words. Oh no, it could never be put down into written form. The closest could be the dead hieroglyphic language of a race of contortionist dancing energy-people who lived in six dimensions simultaneously and practised a religion based on the art of seduction via nostril-based lightning displays.

It would, in the years to come, be known as simply..._The Leap! _(Although in two centuries a radical artist would create painting inspired by ..._The Leap!_ Of a iron studded gazelle leaping over a chasm, towards a smaller, blue-furred member of the species being menaced by a looming skeleton monster with an afro, as it happens)

The end result was a collection of beauty-blinded mages and Gajeel sitting over the now fallen skeleton musician, one large hand clamped over Brook's bony jaw.

"Stop..._talking_." he hissed, straightening for a moment to glare at the watching mages. "Alright, I'll keep this shit." He stood, jerking a thump back at the watching mages. "But I ain't got anywhere to keep it, so let the idiots take what they want."

There was stunned silence as Gajeel made his way through the pile, retrieving one or two items that looked like they had been made from proper, high-quality metal. "Lily, grab what ya want and let's get going. I've had enough of this weird shit."

Lily nodded, hiding his amusement. There wasn't much that interested him, but he found a few things. Ignoring any thanks several mages tried to say to him, although it was hard to ignore Elfman rearing up and shouting how Manly it was of him to share with the guild simply because of the sheer volume, Gajeel paused as he paused Brook,

"Hmm? Yes, Gaj-eeeeel~!" he trailed as Gajeel pulled his head closer, murmuring something before walking out.

After a moment, Natsu spoke up. "Guys, did Gajeel really just give us all this stuff?"

Trying not to squeal as she found a set of leather bound first edition Kemu Zelaon books, Lucy looked up. "I guess he did...I wonder why."

Before this could be discussed in-depth, Brook gained their attention with a few strums of his guitar. "I thought, completely on my own and entirely not told I should by Gajeel-san, that I might offer you all tickets to my concert tonight." He offered. They looked at him. He looked back. "Free buffet at the after-party?" he added.

"WOO! PARTY AT BROOK'S!" Natsu yelled.

"IF YOU'RE A MAN, PARTY HARD!"roared Elfman at full bellow.

While they were shouting, and eventually started doing silly things with some of the odder presents (Brook joining in rather quickly), Levy made her way to Lucy.

"Hey, Lu-chan...do you think...did Gajeel ask him to invite us all because he knew I- we wanted to go?" she asked. Lucy looked up from the book, frowning as she thought about it.

"I...I think that's...wow, maybe he did." The Celestial mage admitted.

The two stopped to ponder on this odd generosity from the surly Dragon Slayer.

It was at about that point that two people tried to take the same thing from the pile, and about five seconds later one of them broke a chair over the other's head.

In predictable Fairy Tail style, it devolved from there. On the bright side, it brought inspiration to Brook, and thus the song _Brawling Fairies_ was born.

Hope you enjoyed it, I found I like writing Brook. He's odd and hilarious.

Not much else to say, except sorry to InuOtaku911 for taking so long to post this and thanks to the same for beta'ing.


	3. The Pirate Prince & The Celestial Lady

And another chapter! This one is slightly...well, it's more serious than the others. My first attempt at such a thing, I do hope it meets your various levels of approval, random anonymous masses of the internet-lurking members One Piece/Fairy Tail fandoms.

It was mostly written after watching the final, dramtic episodes of the **Whitebeard** War Saga...and cemented **Whitebeard**, now and forever, as the most awesome man in Anime/Manga. There might be other characters of Dragon Ball level power, cosmic entities like the Lord of Nightmares (Slayers) and more, but nothing is as undeniably awesome as **Whitebeard**. And I will write a conflict between any character and **Whitebeard** to prove it! At least, characters I actually know. Can't write an informed character without actually knowing it, can I?

And yes, I will write **Whitebeard's** name in **bold** whenever not writing it in a story. He's just that awesome.

So yeah, hope you enjoy it.

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><p>As afterlives went, this one wasn't so bad. Sure, the fact it was just an endless white void was no great shakes, but he could live with that thanks to the pair of logs and the cosy fire burning away warmly in front of them. Not to mention the sake! It was some of the best he had ever tasted, and as far as he could tell the jug never ran out and kept the drink at the perfect temperature. He noted that for some reason there were two sake cups. He realised, quite sourly, after the first few hours – at least he thought it had been hours, it was hard to tell the passage of time in a white void where you didn't get hungry or tired – that no matter how much he drunk he could not get drunk, which rather ruined the point of drinking in the first place, didn't it? Nevertheless, he kept drinking in the hopes he could overcome this seemingly supernatural sobriety if he just stubbornly kept going.<p>

The fact he was dead was a bit depressing, Ace was forced to admit.

When he first appeared here, he had been so worried about Luffy. His idiot of a little brother must feel so horrible right now. Ace had been there to share his grief when Sabo had...Ace had wiped his eyes at the thought, glad none of his nakama were there to see him now. Eventually though, he realised he could do nothing now, and that Luffy was not alone, not anymore. Jinbei had been there, at Luffy's side. Not to mention his little brother's wonderful crew. It was a shame he would miss out on seeing how they went, that "Pirate Hunter" Zoro had a dangerous look about him and Ace had been hoping to see if the guy would really one day match Hawk Eyes. He chuckled, thinking about the stories he had heard since Alabasta. If half of the rumours were true, Luffy had somehow recruited a _cyborg _shipwright of all things. He had to shake his head at the thought, knowing that only Luffy could end up with a crew that ranged from a bounty hunter, a lethal chef, a _talking reindeer_, a hardened criminal who had been hunted since her childhood –hadn't she been his enemy in Alabasta or something? – and a shipwright who was half-metal.

'_He'll recruit a zombie next_' Ace thought to himself.

"Is this seat taken?" a soft, demure voice broke him from his thoughts and Ace reacted without thinking, leaping to his feet as flames spiralled around him.

Staring at him, completely calm, a beautiful woman in an obviously expensive dress with long blonde hair raised a curious eyebrow at him. She had a small amused smile on her face, widening when Ace's cheeks went red. The pirate spluttered stupidly, dragging the flames back into his body with an air of embarrassment.

Rubbing the back of his head, Ace gave the mysterious woman a bashful grin. "Sorry about that ma'am, you caught me by surprise."

"Don't apologise, it was my fault for startling you." She replied calmly, eyes crinkling with amusement. "I'm Layla Heartfillia, a pleasure to meet you."

Ace gave a polite bow, those long ago lessons from Makino not forgotten in the least. "Portgas D. Ace, ma'am," He tipped his hat to her as well, a learned affection that came to him naturally in the presence of good looking women. For some reason it felt...natural.

"So, is it free?"

"Huh?" Ace stared at her, their eyes meeting for a moment as confusion ran over his face before comprehension broke through; "Oh, the log, yeah. Sorry." He grinned in an embarrassed way again.

Layla laughed; a pleasant sound. "The circumstances are rather unusual; I can't blame you for being a little out of it. And please, call me Layla." She sat next to him, controlling her long skirts with a grace from years of practice.

"Sure thing ma- Layla. You can call me Ace." He added, not entirely sure why. "What did you mean by the circumsta-...oh, right. So..." he searched for the right words before finally just blurting out. "So you're dead as well?"

Nodding, Layla reached down for one of the sake dishes and somehow returned with a wine glass. Taking a sip of the alcoholic drink, which happened to be her favourite red, Layla elaborated. "For some time now, I think. Its rather hard to tell here."

Ace agreed with her. "Have you just been wandering around the whole time?"

Layla tapped her chin delicately. "I think so. It was rather uninteresting, to be honest." She said with a laugh.

He laughed with her, glancing out at the white void. Of course, it mattered little _where _he was looking; the endless plain of white just went on forever in every direction. He could not _not _see it.

"So" he began, for lack of anything better to say after a minute of silence when the laughter faded. "How did you..." he trailed off, uncomfortable with asking the question.

"How did I die?" Layla finished for him without batting an eyelash. "I was ill."

"Ah." Ace nodded, not willing to push it any further. While there had been no specific lessons on the etiquette of asking someone how they died, Ace was fairly certain Makino would have told him it was rude.

They remained silent for a few minutes, simply enjoying the company of another person in this strange afterlife.

"A guy made of lava punched me." Ace confided, breaking the silence.

Layla stared at him for a moment, the strange statement processing in her brain. It was a little unusual, and she thought it would make an interesting obituary. Of course, she decided not to voice the thought.

"He was about to hit my little brother." He continued apparently unaware of the oddity of his statement. "And, well, I couldn't just let him do that!" his voice rose slightly.

A small frown came to Layla's face, and she considered the young man. He certainly _looked _like someone used to fighting going by the scars. The strange fire magic from earlier was indicative of an exciting life at the very least. "Of course not."

Ace nodded, some dam inside him breaking. "He...he...Luffy is an idiot, he can't think sensibly for five minutes. I've always looked out for him, y'know? I even asked Makino-chan to teach me proper manners and everything so I could thank Red-Hair for saving him. When I saw him falling into the harbour, so intent on saving _me,_ the one who is meant to be looking after him, it felt like I was going to die then and there! That whole time, watching him fighting the Marines I don't think I've ever been so..._proud_ of him. Proud, and scared." Ace buried his head in his hands, overcome with emotion. To be fair, he had died and as traumatic events go its pretty high up there.

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Ace looked up into Layla's open, welcoming face. He felt safe talking to her, telling her these very personal things. It might have been the woman's air of kindness, or the fact he as dead so what harm could it do anyway, but he felt like he could say anything.

"I was so scared he would die, that one of the Admiral would get him." Ace continued quietly when he had collected himself some more. "We had to save him from crocodiles, me an' Sabo, and there he was standing up to three of the most powerful Marines in the world without fear. To save me! Because I wasn't strong enough! I wasn't strong enough to beat Teach; I wasn't strong enough to escape on my own! Because I wasn't strong enough, he had to come and save me." Ace fist came down on the log harshly, and Layla idly wondered if they could be hurt since they were already dead.

There was little she could say, and in any case the pirate was not finished. "He saved me, opened my chains with a wax key and we...we _kicked arse_!" stray tears leaked down his cheeks despite his best efforts. "Nothing could stop us, fire and rubber! Until _Akainu_" Ace hissed the name vehemently. "I saw it, and I had to stop it! I had already failed Sabo, failed to be a big brother. I couldn't, I just couldn't let it happen. Even though they would all miss me, pops and Marco and everyone, I just had to do something. Sabo would never have forgiven me if I had let our little brother die.

"God, I'm so..._worthless._" he spat the hated word, the word which had tormented him since he was a child.

The hand on his shoulder tightened, and an edge came to the woman's voice. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that." Startled by the strength in her voice, Ace stared into Layla's eyes. What looked at him was made of diamond. "No one is worthless. Your brothers valued you, your family, everyone. You say that you're worthless?" Her voice softened, but whatever it was in her eyes was still hard. "Your little brother loved you, and I'm sure it he would hate to see you like this. And love is always worth something – worth everything. You loved him, and he loved you. That is all that matters. You're so worried about him, aren't you?

Jose has nothing on her eyes, the pirate thought distantly as he nodded. "Yeah..."

"I left my daughter and my husband behind. Even now, after what feels like years, I worry for them. It's only natural. We fear for the things we care most about. But that fear...it just shows you how much your bond is worth." She smiled gently at him, and he noticed belatedly that something was shining in the strange light of this world as it ran down her cheek. "That bond...your fear is a wonderful thing, Ace. But you, and I, need to go past it. I didn't realise it until now, but all my time here has been worrying about those I left behind. I wonder how my sweet Lucy has grown, how my husband took my death. Are they still close? Is Lucy kind? Is he giving her the attention she needs? And my friends, Capricorn and Cancer and Aquarius, how are they? Have they returned to Lucy?" Layla let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. "I don't know, but listening you to Ace I realised something else. We need to trust them. Trust that they can live without us, grow without us. I trust Lucy to grow into a fine woman, to do the right thing. I trust my husband to care for her, even if it is in his own way. I trust my friends to protect my daughter. Capricorn, to be stern and formal but hiding a loving heart. Cancer, to be there whenever she needs someone. Aquarius..." the ends of her lips turned up in a slight smile "Aquarius to be rude and demanding, until Lucy takes her respect. Tell me, Ace, do you trust your little brother?"

_Do I trust Luffy? _He wondered, the immediate answer of _no, he's an idiot _jumping to the fore of his mind and prompting a snort of amusement. Colouring slightly at the break in the tension, he started to think about it, truly think about if he trusted his brother. It was a long time before he answered, voice heavy, "Yes."

Layla stayed silent, just looking at him. Some inner fire grew inside the pirate and he leapt to his feet.

"YES!" he roared, throwing his head back. "LUFFY!" unashamed, tears trickled down his cheeks. "LUFFY!" he called again to the white void. "I LOVE YOU! I TRUST YOU! LUFFY, REACH THE SUMMIT! WHEN WE MEET AGAIN, LUFFY, YOU'LL TELL ME THAT IT WAS YOU WHO FOUND ONE PIECE! YOU'LL BE...THE PIRATE KING!" his hands were iron knotted fists, skin tight with tension as he cried his will into the afterlife.

His voice filled the empty world, the only sound save the crackling of the fire. Turning to face his short-time companion, Ace smiled at Layla. She was becoming see-through, he noticed, and so was he when he looked down at his body.

"Thank you." Was all he said.

"No, Ace, thank you." They shared a private smile, a thing only the dead could truly understand.

But as he faded away, something that she couldn't see made the pirate's eyes widen.

"Sabo, he's..." tears sprung up in his eyes, and as they both disappeared, Ace _laughed_, a thing of joy. "Luffy...you'll see the truth too. I know it."

The fire crackled, the only sound in the white void. It would still be there, burning, until the stars had died. Someone would come to it very soon.

Everyone did, in time.

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><p>Well, that's that done. Hope you enjoyed it. Please comment, I do so enjoy getting that little addition to my inbox where it tells me I have a new review.<p> 


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